Quit smoking or vaping: your first week

01What you need

• Your phone, with 1-800-QUIT-NOW savedHave
• A trash bag for cigarettes, lighters, vapes and podsHave
• Sugar-free gum, crunchy snacks and a water bottle for cravingsHave / $5
• A card with your reasons for quittingHave

Where: Plan at the kitchen table. Clear out the house, the car and your bags the night before your quit day.

02Steps

1. Pick a quit date

   YouChoose a day within the next two weeks. Skip a day you already know will be stressful. Write it on the calendar and on your reasons card. Five minutes.

2. Write your reasons and triggers

   YouOn the card, list your reasons: your kids, your health, the money. Then list when you light up or reach for the vape: the drive to work, after meals, with coffee, when stressed, with certain friends. Next to each one, write what you'll do instead. Ten minutes.

3. Tell your people

   YouTell your partner, a friend and anyone you smoke with. Say: “I'm quitting on [date]. Don't offer me one, and if I'm grumpy that week, that's why.” Ask someone who has quit what helped them. Five minutes.

4. Line up free help

   YouCall 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) before quit day. Quit coaches help for free and can tell you what your state offers. Sign up for SmokefreeTXT or the quitSTART app at smokefree.gov. Book a visit or call your doctor or pharmacist and ask: “Which quit medicine would fit me, and does my insurance cover it?” Ten minutes.

5. Clear the house, car and bags

   YouThe night before, throw out every cigarette, lighter, vape, pod and bottle of liquid. Check the car, your jacket pockets, your work bag. Wash clothes that smell of smoke. Clean out the car.

6. Get through quit day

   YouThe only job today is not to smoke or vape, not even once. When a craving hits, drink water, chew gum or eat something crunchy, take ten slow breaths, or walk. Go somewhere you can't smoke. If someone offers, say, “No thanks, I quit.”

7. Change the routine for the week

   YouChange the habits that went with it: a new route to work, a different spot for lunch, a walk after dinner with the kids instead of the back porch. Plan a small reward for day seven. Bad moods, rough sleep and cravings are common in the first days; plan for them.

03If it stalls

• If you slip, it's a setback, not the end. Reread your reasons, figure out what led to it, and pick up where you left off.
• If you're using vapes to quit cigarettes, plan to quit those too. CDC says using both isn't a safe middle ground.
• If cravings feel unbeatable, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW again or ask your doctor about medicine. You don't have to do it on willpower alone.
• If your kids ask, keep it simple: “I'm quitting because I want to be around for a long time.”

04Variations

05Sources

• Building a quit plan. Smokefree.gov advises picking a quit date within the next two weeks and avoiding a stressful day, listing your reasons, identifying triggers and planning for each, throwing away cigarettes, matches and lighters and clearing home, car and bags, washing smoky clothes, using craving strategies such as water, crunchy food, ten deep breaths and exercise, telling people your plan, getting expert help including quitlines, SmokefreeTXT and the quitSTART app, asking a doctor about quit medicines, changing routines, saying “No, thanks, I quit,” and not smoking at all on quit day. National Cancer Institute (Smokefree.gov) Checked Oct 15, 2026
• Quitting e-cigarettes: free coaching and medicines. CDC says quitting vaping is likely similar to quitting smoking, that using both cigarettes and e-cigarettes is not an effective way to protect your health, that e-cigarette aerosol is not harmless, that FDA has not approved any e-cigarette to help people quit, that quit coaches at 1-800-QUIT-NOW give confidential help at no cost, that SmokefreeTXT and other text programs are available, and that FDA has approved seven medications to help people quit smoking. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Checked Oct 15, 2026
• Keeping smoke away from kids. The AAP advises not smoking inside your home or car or near your children, says opening windows isn't enough to clear the air, describes thirdhand smoke residue that lingers on surfaces and hair, mentions over-the-counter and prescription quit medicines, and says to talk with your doctor or call 1-800-QUIT-NOW to reach your state quitline. American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org) Checked Oct 15, 2026
• Liquid nicotine and young children. The AAP warns that a very small amount of e-cigarette refill liquid can kill a child, that it can be absorbed through the skin, that children 1 to 2 are at greatest risk, urges parents to keep products and refills in child-resistant packaging out of children's reach, and says to call Poison Control at 800-222-1222 right away after any exposure. American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org) Checked Oct 15, 2026